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Day Three surprises from Winter Meetings

Any time I hear the phrase "surprise team" during the Winter Meetings, I am afraid ... very afraid. Especially since there is a rumoured "surprise team" that is involved with trade talks between the Chicago Cubs for Milton Bradley.

"Jays want young controllable players to build around. Bradley, with his history and his contract, is not a fit for Toronto."

While I completely agree, that was said by Bastian and Alex Anthopoulos. I don't think AA would be crazy enough to want Milton Bradley on this team, however there might be a few others like Paul Beeston and Cito Gaston who are trying to put together a good argument to bring in Bradley.

Make it a Blockbuster Night

Moving on to the first blockbuster of the Winter Meetings - the Yankees upgraded their outfield by acquiring Curtis Granderson from the Tigers in a three team trade. The Yankees gave up Ian Kennedy, Phil Coke and Austin Jackson - notably missing from that list of players? Joba Chamberlain and Phil Hughes ... don't consider that a coincidence. The Yankees are likely keeping those guys in their back pocket just in case they want to swing a last-minute deal with the Blue Jays for Roy Halladay.

The Bearded Face of Innocence

Speaking of Doc - if you want to think back to a younger, more innocent time in his career, Dave at Go Jays Go got his hands on this picture of a fresh-faced, brace-clad Roy Halladay on draft day 1995. It almost brings a tear to your eye to think back to then and realize that just 14 years later, he would be leaving us. Oh, and don't worry ... we've already started creating the playlist.

5 comments:

I'm not totally opposed to the Bradley idea. There was talk of a Wells/Bradley swap at one point. If the Jays didn't have to absorb a ton of Wells contract it might be a good idea. Then again, if Wells has a great year next year, which is entirely likely, we would kick ourselves.

I'm with you Mattt - I think the only scenario which could bring Milton Bradley to the Blue Jays is if Wells was sent elsewhere. The problem with that being Wells has a no trade clause, and the Blue Jays would likely have to eat a lot of money off his contract before any team would take him.

Wells will bounce back next year - the question is HOW WELL will he bounce back?

While this is true, I'm glad AA isn't just making trades for the sake of looking busy at the Winter Meetings. He probably has a clear idea in his head about what he wants back for Halladay (or any other Blue Jay for that matter), so it make take a little longer than this week for the gears to start moving on that.

I can't believe you give a guy a ridiculously huge contract AND a no trade clause. It's like getting a huge raise at work with the option built in that no matter how poorly you do your job, or if a person better suited to the job comes along, you can't be fired.

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About the Blue Jay Hunter

The Blue Jay Hunter is a blog about the Toronto Blue Jays, which takes a look at the team under the microscope. Mixed in with just a hint of humour, and a shred of dignity. I also have an affinity for baseball moustaches.